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Thanks Living

I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God . Helen Keller

When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears. Anthony Robbins

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

“Thanks Living” means living life with an attitude of “thanks”. This attitude is on the opposite end of the spectrum from selfishness or “It’s all about.me,” or from having a sense of entitlement. As we look around, most of us fall into one of three categories: Those that are thankful; those that are indifferent, and those that feel victimized or owed. One of the big concerns of today is this ever increasing sense of entitlement

There are those that believe our world is governed by certain natural laws. These laws tend to be secular in nature but some of them have a spiritual basis as well. One such law relates to the circumstances of being thankful or of counting blessings. People who are thankful or feel blessed tend to find themselves with that many more reasons to be thankful or blessed. In other words, being knowingly conscious of such things tend to attract more good things to them. Another way of saying this: To get more blessings be thankful for the blessing you already have. Those that live life with Thanks Living will have more reasons to be thankful.

To be able to be thankful, one must have acquired a certain level of maturing and development that allows them to sufficiently overcome selfishness, self-centeredness, cynicism or other undesirable attitudes. It is hard to be conscious of being blessed or thankful if one feels overly slighted, deserving, owed or suffering from other such maladies. As long as we feel we deserve more than we have and someone should give us the things we do not have, we are not be able to understand or to experience what living life with Thanks Living is all about.

Those who overcome “It’s all about me” have a much better chance of becoming well adjusted. Perhaps there is a point in our adult development that allows us to be more conscious of being thankful for what we do have rather than overly focused on what we do not have. We become thankful for our blessings. Some never get to this point in their lives. It will be hard for them to find joy or happiness if they cannot get past feeling they have been shortchanged, slighted or owed. Thanks Living implies a sense of joy, happiness and thankfulness that comes from being very aware of the good things that we are blessed to have.

Challenge: Thanks Living is an attitude you must develop. It requires becoming thankful the majority of the time as compared to feeling ungrateful. It requires being aware of the good and the blessings as compared to focusing on all the troubles, problems and difficulties. It is more living life with the “glass being half full as compared to it being half empty”. Being grateful or ungrateful is a choice you must make. Your choice makes all the difference.

Wisdom: As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. John F Kennedy

Spiritual: (NIV)

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32:17

And this is my prayer; that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Philippians 1:9

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

The Bible tells us we should not worry. God tells us we have no reason to worry. He promises to provide us with what we need to live this life. We have a very hard time in believing his promises. This requires an increasing trust and faith that he will do what he says. God is our Heavenly Father, loves us and wants the best for us. If we will reach out to him and grab his hand, he will show us the way and help us to have the faith we need.

Prayer: Help me to overcome my ingratitude and to learn to live life with Thanks Living.